


Living Armor

by Commonswift



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Cassandra Has magic, F/F, Flashbacks, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Self-Hatred, Series Rewrite, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:00:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24505054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Commonswift/pseuds/Commonswift
Summary: Cassandra didn’t want to be the bad guy, after being shot with amber, she gave up the Moonstone and left, if Zhan Tiri wanted to destroy Corona she could do it herself.She never thought they could lose and would have never imagined the cheerful people she grew up with would do this to her.Cassandra had another chance to make this right, but she can’t stop seeing the loathing in their eyes.
Relationships: Captain of Corona's Guard & Cassandra (Disney), Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 114





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Character deaths only apply to the flashback sections.

Cassandra had let rage cloud her judgment, done things she shouldn’t have and it all ended in one big disaster with the Royal Guards attacking her on sight and the one person she had fell helplessly in love, but knew would never love her back in the same way, just deceived her.

She was stupid to even think Rapunzel really cared about her, it must have been all a ruse to give Varian a chance to try his new toy, project Obsidian, on her.

This was the last straw.

Cassandra let black rocks break her out from her Amber prison, her expression fixed in one full of anger

“Project Obsidian, huh? Zhan Tiri was right” she accused, trying to hide the heartbreak she was feeling inside

“Cassandra” Rapunzel pleading voice just made it worse, because she knew it was fake, but now Cassandra was well guarded against her lies.

“You want me to be the bad guy, well I refuse to be the bad guy and I want nothing to do with you ever again!” she shouted out grasping the Moonstone with her right hand and throwing the cursed object at the princess, her black armor made a cracking noise as it turned into a powerless gray shade.

Cassandra felt a void the moment the Moonstone was removed from her body, it was a strange sensation.

What was this weird feeling? it’s as if something was waking up inside of her, a strange warmth.

Whatever it was she ignored it, she turned on her heel and walked at a fast pace towards the exit, everyone was too shocked to even try to stop her.

Well, almost.

Rapunzel had the Moonstone in her hands for five seconds tops, before she let it fall on the ground and followed Cassandra, grabbing her wrist to halt her.

“Cassandra, wait! You gave up the Moonstone, you don’t need to leave! Everything can go back as it was before”

“I refuse to go back to being your servant” Cassandra splat out trying to rip her wrist out of her grip, but of course the princess had a solid grip on her bad arm, that her majesty herself had provided to ruin.

“You are not my servant, you are my friend!” Rapunzel exclaimed exasperated, but Cassandra was seeing red and it was a good thing black rocks weren’t under her will anymore, or else Corona would have ended up like Atlantis right in this moment.

“Liar” that single word spoke with such venom made Rapunzel recoil, but she didn’t lose her grip.

She didn’t want to ever let go, even if Cassandra seemed to want to incinerate her on the spot, she knew her friend was in here.

Rapunzel just had to dig her out, she couldn’t give up now that the risk of being impaled was gone.

“Cassandra listen! Varian didn’t mean to fire on you, it malfunctioned!” she tried to reason with her, but all Cassandra could see was the Royal Guards getting ready to ambush her.

“Sure, it just happened to misfire when I was in the line of fire, try another one Princess” Cassandra said back, her tone conveying that she didn’t buy a single word, she scanned her surroundings knowing that she will have to make a run for it before the Guards finished surrounding her.

She knew she could lose them in the tunnels, those fools had never dared to learn the ins and out of Corona.

They don’t even know how to hold a sword right, but they got to be on the Guard.

Her bitter thoughts were interrupted by Rapunzel, who had caught her face with both hands to force her to look at her in the eyes, Cassandra would be lying if she didn’t admit that seeing the princess’s beautiful green eyes glistening with tears made her heart ache.

“Cass, please believe me” Rapunzel was outright pleading her at this point, Cassandra didn’t know what she would have said or done right here, maybe she would have tried to reconcile, but then she heard a movement from behind her and any chance of her trying went out the proverbial window.

Cassandra grabbed Rapunzel by the her arms and switched their place jumping back as she did so, she coldly watched as the Guards ended up accidentally trapping the princess on the ground with a net, her hand immediately went to grasp a smoke bomb in her satchel

“Did that one misfire too?” was the only thing she said before threw it on the ground, smoke covered her exit as she quickly fled to the tunnels below, no one was able to follow her, but Cassandra could clearly hear the angered voice of King Frederic ordering to capture the traitor and the clanking of the Royal Guard’s armor as they looked for her.

She left believing that they could handle whatever Zhan Tiri threw at them, without her help.

She was wrong.

_“This is Griffith’s second blessing, a chance to change your fate to a better end”_

Cassandra found herself staring at a short haired Rapunzel as she was about to touch the Black rocks for the first time.


	2. They Killed me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra gets confused as memories of events that didn't happen flood her mind, while Rapunzel is worrying herself sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to make this chapter 2000 words long.
> 
> It's about 50 words less :(
> 
> Tell me if I got to add more tags

Cassandra was confused, her head was hurting and she was disoriented, she learned on the rock wall to balance herself.

She could barely recall what she was doing, then she slightly turned and saw Rapunzel about to touch those strange Black rocks.

Oh right, she had sneaked the princess out and wanted to show off those mysterious Rocks, but for some strange reason Cassandra couldn’t remember why and trying to think about it was the equivalent of stabbing her brain.

She had the feeling that something was wrong, that she should be stopping Rapunzel from touching those things, but it was too late.

The Black rocks flashed, a blue energy exploded from out of them and sent both of them flying and in Cassandra’s case hit her head on the rock wall, if she had an headache before now it was way worse and she was on the hedge of blacking out.

“CASS! WE HAVE TO RUN” she heard Rapunzel shout out and felt being pulled on her feet, an arm around her waist was steadying her up and they started running, Cassandra struggling to keep up in her disoriented state.

Black rocks were sprouting from the ground and following their direction, Cassandra had recovered enough for her protective instincts to kick in, she got out Rapunzel’s grip and she started kicking a tree

“CASS!” the princess yelled out in worry

“I am okay, keep running Raps! I will be right behind you!” Cassandra said back, Rapunzel obeyed her and resumed her run.

The tree gave out and blocked the path behind them, Cassandra felt like knowing this wouldn’t work for long so she run as fast as could she didn’t even stop when she out of the forest and saw Rapunzel standing here with forty feet of golden hair, instead she just scoped up the end of said hair and kept running

Why wasn’t she surprised by sight of it?

“We need to keep moving!” Cassandra exclaimed, urging Rapunzel to run as well, they did, those Black rocks trailing after them.

They arrived to an unstable bridge and crossed it at full speed, uncaring that the whole structure was falling behind them, Cassandra only stopped once they arrived to the other side

The Black rocks stopped and the bridge collapsed behind them.

Cassandra was still trying to regain her breath, when Rapunzel suddenly took hold of her head, she flinched as nimble fingers carefully examined a spot to the right side of it near her ear.

“Cass you are bleeding!” Rapunzel cried out in alarm, Cassandra did indeed have a blunt wound and it was the size of a fist

“I am okay! It’s just a scratch” Cassandra exclaimed trying to get out Rapunzel’s hold, but the princess didn’t budge

“a scratch!? I can see a bit of your skull, you have to see a doctor!” she said panicking a little

“I-I can’t, they…they will know I took you out! As if the hair wasn’t enough” Cassandra exclaimed and in that moment Rapunzel registered that her magical hair were back

“You are right my hair! I can heal you” she said joyfully as she wrapped it around Cassandra’s wound, the latter already knew it wouldn’t work even if she didn't knew why

“…Raps..It” she fumbled with her words

**_Flower, gleam and glow_ **

**_Let your power shine_ **

**_Make the clock reverse_ **

**_Bring back what once was mine_ **

**_Heal what has been hurt_ **

**_Change the fate's design_ **

**_Save what has been lost_ **

**_Bring back what once was mine_ **

**_What once was mine._ **

“Why didn’t it work? It always worked before!” Rapunzel said in confusion as Cassandra’s wound was still glaring at her.

Because you barely borrowed a bit of power from the Moonstone, the Sundrop is still dormant in you.

Cassandra stopped herself from saying so out loud, highly confused as on why she thought of such thing in the first place, she needed to focus to the problem at hand

“We have to go back, they will notice you are missing” Cassandra said getting to her feet, but a wave of dizziness made her fall, the only thing saving her from kissing the ground was Fidella steadying her by grabbing the back of her shirt.

“Cass please, I will face my father, you are seriously hurt, this isn’t something we can hide, you need a doctor” Rapunzel exclaimed in more stern tone

“This isn’t just about you, I will be sent to a convent if the King finds out I sneaked you out” Cassandra snapped at her and immediately felt guilty about it as Rapunzel flinched at her “I-I am sorry…Listen after we sneak back and deal with your hair, I will pretend to fall off Fidella and get checked out” she said putting a comforting hand on Rapunzel’s shoulder

“No Cassandra! that would take too long, head injuries are serious! You could die and as your princess I won’t allow it” Rapunzel commanded her slapping off the hand on her shoulder, her face being totally serious and a bit angry, Cassandra paled on remembering a similar scene.

It was just a nightmare, It’s just a nightmare, Adira doesn’t exist and Rapunzel didn’t burn my hand.

It’s just a nightmare.

Nothing is true.

It’s all just a nightmare.

It’s a nightmare.

“Cass! Cass! Max help!” Rapunzel freaked out at Cassandra suddenly zoning out and not responding to her, Max immediately crunched down as to allow Rapunzel to easily get Cassandra on his saddle.

Cassandra snapped out of it as Rapunzel was lifting her up in Max’s saddle

"What? Let me go, I am fine!" she protested as found herself sitting here

"Cass please, you are not okay and you are scaring me!" Rapunzel exclaimed as she positioned herself behind Cassandra and wrapped her hair around her handmaiden's waist, so she couldn't fall off or jump down.

It was an awkward position, as Cassandra was a full head taller than her, so Rapunzel was pretty much trying to peer at the road ahead from over Cassandra's shoulder.

It was a good thing Max knew the way home, they might have ended up in Arendelle if it were any other horse, except Fidella, who was trotting by their side, looking concerned at Cassandra, who had grown silent.

"Cass talk to me" Rapunzel said

"Is that an order, your highness?" Cassandra exclaimed bitterly, she didn't even know herself why she was mad

"if it keeps you from falling into a coma, yes!" Rapunzel half shouted back, more scared then upset at Cassandra's words.

A moment of silence passed.

"Cass, please" she begged her seemly on the verge of tears.

Cassandra couldn't stay mad at her.

Why was she mad? She had the sudden urge to fall asleep, but she knew she wasn't supposed to.

"...you are holding me too tight" she said then added "Max's back is going to strain with both of us"

"you couldn't stand up and blacked out, I am not letting you ride, you might fall off and break your neck!" Rapunzel said exasperated, but did loosen up her grip a little

Cassandra shook her head trying to make those awful nightmares go way and possibly shake herself awake, it just made her head spin.

"Cass! Don't do that! try to stay still" the princess scolded her

"I am trying to stay awake!" Cassandra argued back and immediately regretted it as she could feel Rapunzel panicking

"No, No, NO! don't do that! Stay awake, talk to me! Max go faster! Cass say something to me! Anything!"

"I don't...kn" Cassandra started to say then some kind of story made her way to her head and she paused for a moment

"Many Centuries ago in the Old Continent a young man named Griffith climbed the ranks till he became a Captain of the King's army, but he still wasn't satisfied and when war arrived all he could see was an opportunity to gain more power" she began

"...that doesn't seem very nice, he should have been happy of what he had" Rapunzel commented, but Cassandra didn't seem to hear her and if the princess could see her eyes, she would probably freak out.

They were glowing white.

"Griffith came to know that the enemy King was visiting a military camp nearby and devised a strategy to lure the enemy troops away from it, so that he could easily kill the King and end the war all by himself, his plan worked but the King wasn't alone, his wife and children were with him. Griffith didn't spare them, he took their heads as a trophy for his King"

"...Cass I don't like this story, can't you recite one of your manuals?" Rapunzel said uncomfortable

"The King was disgusted by the gesture and was otherwise furious with Griffith, since his strategy had brought the death of the majority of the troops, leaving the Kingdom vulnerable to other attacks. Griffith was only hit by the gravity of what he did a few years in his exile when the news of his former home falling to enemy hands reached him. He vowed to find a way to fix things so he started studying magic, many years later he became the first user of living armor magic"

Cassandra fell silent whatever was compelling her to speak such tale was gone, she was confused and was growing tired by the minute

"Cass! Cass! Don't fall asleep!" Rapunzel suddenly said

"I wasn't!...wait are you crying?" she answered a bit sluggishly as she felt something stinky and wet on her face running down her back

"N-No" the princess said trying to hold back her tears, but how could she not cry seeing all that blood rushing out her Cass?

Cassandra may feel a bit out of it right now, but she caught the lie.

However before she could say anything they arrived at the bridge, the moment Max's hoofs hit the pavement and made that noise she remembered.

She was supposed to be **dead**.

They killed her.

They killed her and it was horrible.

It had all happened in a matter of minutes, but to her it had lasted so much more.

Her left arm went flying away from its socket unexpectedly and she ended up being dragged instead of outright ripped in half by the horses.

She was sent flying by an irregularity on the road and landed on the spikes of a metal fence.

She had been impaled throughout the upper part of her body starting from the neck to her lower abdomen, she couldn’t breathe and when she tried she vomited out her own blood, watering the overgrown grass below her.

It didn’t kill her on the spot and she was still being pulled from her legs, it was excruciating and the only reason she wasn’t outright screaming was that she couldn’t.

Her body was being outright carved out by the metal.

The last thing she saw was pieces of her own bowels still stuck to that fence, then her vision faded to black and all she could hear was the distant clopping noise of hoofs and loud joyful cheers.

What was going on? Why was she alive now? Why was she back to that night she had sneaked out Rapunzel? Was it all an horrible nightmare?

Yes, that must be it, the cheerful people she grew up with would never do such thing to anyone.

Let alone to her.

Would they?

_“This is Griffith’s second blessing, a chance to change your fate to a better end”_

Hal?

Wait, who is Hal? what's going on?

Cassandra's trail of thought faded as a dreamless sleep took over her, she was faintly aware of her name being called several times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello sorry for the wait, I got distracted by other stuff -hides unpublished fics-
> 
> I will try to write next chapter faster and keep up this chapter length.


	3. Misunderstanding and Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel is beating herself up over Cassandra being injuried and tries to take all the blame away from her friend.  
> However the way she worded it make everyone get the wrong idea...but is it so wrong? or Rapunzel merely didn't recognize her own feelings yet?
> 
> Meanwhile Cassandra meets with her mentor, who gives her a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay new chapter!  
> Maybe in ten years you will get the full story :D  
> I tried to write less things like "she said" "he said" and bla bla tell me if it's better this way and please point out weird sentences

Rapunzel thought they had made it, they had reached the bridge, Royal Guards were approaching them, everything was going to okay, then she felt Cassandra go limp in her arms

"Cass?! Cass! Cassandra please wake up!" she fanatically begged as she tried to shake her awake, feeling as if her own heart was going to stop as Cassandra didn't respond to her.

There was so much blood, on her hands, on her clothes, on her face.

It was everywhere!

Cass was bleeding out!

How could she forget to bandage her head!? How could she not notice how much she was bleeding?

This was all her fault, she shouldn't have asked Cass to take her out.

Everything would have been fine if she just stayed put in her room.

* * *

Arianna and Frederic were woken up by a frantic maid

"Your Highness quick to the infirmary, the Princess is covered blood!" that sentence was enough to scare the daylights out of them and make them rush towards the infirmary in their nightclothes.

They rounded the corner and saw her, their little girl, crying her eyes out into Eugene's shoulder, they reached them relieved that Rapunzel didn't seem hurt, but still worried sick over seeing her so distraught and that's without counting the blood.

"What happened? are you okay?" Frederic walked long steps towards his daughter then she stopped at gape at her in shock "your hair!" he didn't know how he hadn't noticed it immediately, but now that he has he was more worried than ever.

What if someone else wanted to get their hands on its power and take his little girl away from him?

Rapunzel pushed Eugene away and prostrated at her father's feet, earning a gasp from all presents

"Your M-Majesty, it wasn't her fault!" she pleaded him "I-It was mine! I take full responsibility! please punish me"

After a moment of shock the King straightened out as if he was dealing judgment in his throne room "What do I have to punish you for? and who else is involved?"

"I-I convinced Cassandra to sneak me o-out, I wanted to s-see where the S-Sundrop was taken" the princess knew that she wasn't being truthful, but she had no choice, Cassandra would be sent away if she didn't swift the blame away from her

"I don't believe you" her father's words were like freezing water on her back, she looked up to him with wide fearful eyes "if you really wished to see where the flower was took you would have asked at the least once, secondly I had personally warned Cassandra herself to not pull you along for her night strolls" the King had been impassible "It doesn't matter if you convinced her or not, she deliberately disobeyed an order from her King and endangered her princess, she must be p""NO!" a visceral yell stopped him from finishing that sentence, Rapunzel's hands were curled into a first and tears were wetting the floor "You can't take her away from me!" her voice had been taken over by an uncharacteristic rage "I want her! I would do anything for her"

"Stop acting like a spoiled child, she's just an handmaiden" the King scolded her with a frown, at that Rapunzel rose up openly glaring at him despite still crying

"Just an handmaiden? just an handmaiden!? She's not just an handmaiden!" she repeated her voice raising up "can't you understand that I can't breathe without her, **I LOVE HER**!" several people gasped in surprise, the maids present started murmuring.

Rapunzel didn't understand how her words sounded, she just spoke with her heart, how was she supposed to keep doing this princess stuff if she didn't have Cass in her corner to help her out? No one else understand when she was feeling overwhelmed and needed a break, or took their time to explain simple things to her, or help her when she had nightmares.

She just couldn't imagine her whole life without Cassandra.

"So please" Rapunzel bowed her head, her voice lowering "punish me instead" she was begging him at this point, she didn't know what else to do

"Very well, we will discuss your punishment tomorrow, your coronation shall be postponed to a later date" Frederic declared taken back by what he just heard, then he turned to a short maid "Faith, you will be Rapunzel's handmaiden from now on"

"but Dad...""After what you just said, it's highly inappropriate to keep Cassandra as your handmaiden, but I won't send her to convent or kick her out of the Castle, she's welcome to stay like Eugene." Rapunzel was confused, upset and relieved by that statement, did she say something weird? Cass lost her job, she's going to be so upset! but she's not going to a convent and they can still be friends.

So everything was going to be fine, right?

* * *

Cassandra opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by stars, she freaked out and jumped to her feet not even understanding how she was standing up on nothing.

"Relax, you aren't here, I merely borrowed your spirit" she immediately focused on the familiar figure before her "Hal?!" she referred to a tall silver halberd, finely decorated on both the handle and blade, hovering in place not too far from her "what's going on? I died! I know I did because I can still feel my arm getting ripped off and being torn apart as I choked on my own blood" she had started her sentence yelling then as she recalled the memory she fell to her knees tightly holding herself and went quieter "...they were all laughing and cheering"

"It's alright, thanks to Griffith's second blessing you have gained a chance to change your fate to a better end" the voice was coming from the halberd, it was soothing and calm.

"...I died then I woke up when Raps was about to touch the rocks" Cassandra let out those words slowly as if it would help her understand her situation better

"That event must have been was your turning point" Hal hovered closer to her "The blessing allows you to come back to a time where your fate can still change to a better end"

"I was a villain for so long? I have go through everything all over again" she asked horrified

"No, Cassandra, this isn't about when you took that path, it’s about the events that pushed you to it, the blessing simply allows you to retrace your steps and take the right turn" there had been a pause "however it's not all, I have called you here for a reason, it's about Griffith's third and last blessing"

"another one?" came the defeated answer, Cassandra was tired, she didn't want to deal with this again, why couldn't she have just died and woke up in a better place? this was hell, it didn't matter what Hal said cause there is no way she can look at Raps in the eyes without wanting to die.

She just can't do this again.

"It's a choice" this surprised her as the last blessings had been forced upon her.

"Can I choose to die?"

"if when you wake up you choose to end your life I can't stop you, the second blessing only works once, however you can't leave this place before you make your choice" the Halberd seemed unfazed by Cassandra's willingness to end herself

"Go ahead"

"you either keep your magic as it is or strengthen it, but at a great risk"

"...I could get stronger?" this slightly brightened her mood, had she been stronger she could have stopped Raps before she...

"Yes, if you choose so your body will become your own forge, to fuel it you will have to win against the darkest parts of yourself and should you succeed you will wield the full extent of living armor magic"

"and if I fail?"

"Should you lose, your spirit will fall apart and you will die, but instead of passing over you will cease to exist" Cassandra didn't react to such news, she just let Hal continue. "however that's not all even if you win, you might not survive, I am sure you remember how your magic first manifested?"

"...Yes, I do" Cassandra looked at her right hand, her face grim as she recalled the pain and horrible fever that had took her out for that crucial week, the confusion as she woke up back in her room at the Castle but with an irremovable gauntlet on her right hand, then she put her head in her hands and squeezed her eyes shut willing the memory of what happened next to disappear.

"This time your whole body will become an armor" this surprised her, she had got used to her right hand being that way, but her whole body, could she even get used to such thing?

"My whole body?"

"Exactly, when your magic wakes up again you will turn into sentient unbreakable armor and stay as such till the last of your days" the idea intrigued her, but there was still something she must know

"...last time you said I could break the black rocks because the Moonstone left some power in me"

"Your current body hasn't been tainted by the Moonstone power, you might grow strong enough to resist but those ancestral powers will probably be the one thing that would still be able to harm you" those news deflated Cassandra.

"So what would be the point? I wouldn't be able to beat Zhan Tiri this time! Nothing would change it might even get worse"

"Zhan Tiri doesn't have yet the stones, does she?" Hal pointed out, gaining her attention "I trained you well, you are perfectly capable of beating that warlock"

"How? When I meet her she was a ghost and I can't stab an incorporeal being! even if I won't fall for her lies again, she will just worm her way into someone else head!" Cassandra knew too well how clever Zhan Tiri was, how easy it was to fall for words, for her to claw her way into your own head.

She herself wasn't even sure she wouldn't fall prey to the warlock's poisonous words again.

"The solution is quite simple" Hal's voice interrupted her thoughts "When your power awakens, help Zhan Tiri escape her prison then kill her" such thing seemed impossible, how could she ever outsmart Zhan Tiri "Play her game and let the warlock own arrogance end her"

"My magic won't awake till it's too late to do anything!"

"Your magic had been suffocated by the Moonstone, if you hadn't taken it, it would have woke up shortly after your return to Corona with the Princess"

"....but I would have to take it again to trick Zhan Tiri" just the thought of repeating her betrayal made her sick

"Is that such an awful thing? you saw what would happen if you let the Princess take it" those words chased the sickness away as she remembered Rapunzel last sad smile to her before she reunited the stones.

Not even ashes had remained.

"No. I can't let that happen again."

"I believe you made your choice"

"Make me stronger" Cassandra stood up straight as she said those words, her resolve strong as steel.

The future will not repeat itself.

She was going to take Rapunzel's destiny of death for herself.

In Cassandra's eyes she was the only one deserving to face death, maybe in another life she will get to be happy, but in this one she has to pay her dues both for her hand in unleashing Zhan Tiri on Corona and for the horrible things she had done in keep Rapunzel safe.

"Very well, I wish you good luck" the halberd glowed and the entire environment changed.

Now she was standing in the arena of the Challenge of the Brave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cass's teacher was a talking Halbard she nicknamed Hal.  
> Poor Cass wants to take the whole armor of isolation to whole new level :(
> 
> Thank you for your comments and kudos ^_^


	4. Won a battle, not the War.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra is confronted by her darkest thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Blood, decapitation, dismembered body parts, mentions of Rape -even if it never happened-
> 
> Lots of """funny"""" stuff this chapter.

Cassandra looked around in confusion, the arena was deserted, but there was something inescapably eerie about it.

The whole place was engulfed in a red tint, and the arena was set up for the Dead man circle.

Did she have to fight? But she had no weapons and to make things worse she was stuck into her lady in waiting uniform.

Why? She had her normal casual clothes just a moment before.

Hal said she had to defeat the darkest parts about herself, it can't mean literally, no those things have always some philosophical bullshit behind it, it must be something different.

Still she was in an arena, was it better for her to wait?

Well nothing was happening, maybe she needed to leave.

Cassandra moved towards the exit but before she could step out the Dead man circle, the white line delimiting it busted in black flames, the sandy ground beyond it disappeared into a dark void.

The stands twisted and turned, changing into something that vaguely resembled a closing hand

The whole structure wasn't made of wood anymore, now it was completely made out of black rocks.

Shadow figures started materializing on the seats, all with glowing yellow eyes glaring at her with a snarl

"MONSTER!"

"TRAITOR!"

"MURDERER!"

"USURPER!"

"DEMON!"

"RAPIST!"

A chorus of angry, loathing voices erupted from them, each word hurt more than the rest and while not all of them were true, she vividly remembered being called each one of those things by all people of Corona.

So many good and cheerful people had thought the worst of her; it can't be a coincidence, can it? She must be rotten inside.

There was no wonder they had given her such an awful death.

However she was trying to fix her mistakes and pay for her sins with her own blood, which has to count for something, right?

"Please, you have already decided to steal the Moonstone again" Cassandra slowly turned towards the voice, shivers going all over her body as she recognized the owner "Drop the noble act and admit you are just lusting for more power, Cass _and_ ra" she paled and fell on her knees trembling in fear at the sight of an headless body donned in the uniform reserved to the Captain of the Guards, the red fabric ripped and stained with maroon splatters from the blood still gushing out the clean cut throat as if it were a never ending fountain, the missing head cradled to his chest by his left arm, dripping copiously with blood as well.

His dirty skin was shade of blue and dried blood; he had a sword clutched in his right hand, but the thing that creeped out Cassandra the most was his eyes.

They were unblinking, wide open with black iris, glassy pupils looking down at her with pure unaltered hate and disgust.

"Eugene, I am...""Sorry for murdering me and forced my fiancé to marry you?" this hit a nerve, the mere notion that she wanted to do any of it was maddening

"Zhan Tiri forced me! You know that! You told me to..." "Excuses, Excuses" Eugene interrupted her "always blaming Zhan Tiri for your crimes, please be honest with me before I tore your soul apart, you lusted after my Sunshine for so long that you jumped at the chance to get rid of me and have her all for yourself, did you enjoy your first wedding night? Was it all worth it to satiate your despicable desires?"

"I DIDN'T TOUCH HER!" she really didn't, the only she dared to sleep in the same bed was Zhan Tiri breathing down their necks and anyway it was Rapunzel that would...

"My, my, my you have been lying for so long you even convinced yourself, what a mad little monster have you become and to think I came to think of you as a sister" he readied his sword to fight "time to put you down"

"Wait!..I...I don't have a sword" she panicked saying the first thing that came to her mind.

She didn't want to fight Eugene.

"Fitting, just like when you sent Rapunzel in the dead man circle without her frying pan" Cassandra gaped at him, she had never told anyone about what she did, why confess her petty act when they had already made up? "Did you think I wouldn't find out about your little dirty trick? How does it feel to be at the receiving end of it? Sunshine never knew what you did, didn't she?" he started to slowly get closer "you have been rotten even before Zhan Tiri" he said it as a fact, not a single doubt in his voice.

Roars of agreement came from the stands.

Eugene was right in front of her "Now be good for once in your pathetic life and stay still" he raised his sword ready to cut off Cassandra's head off her shoulders as she had done to him.

The blade bounced off Cassandra's raised right forearm, now covered in a sickly green gauntlet.

"You are right Fitzherbert" she admitted, her body lighted up as her handmaiden outfit was replaced by the rest of her armour, a broadsword materializing in her hand, she meet his glassy gaze, her own eyes burning with determination "But, I can't die, not yet"

The armour seemed made to strike terror, it covered her full body, spikes were all over it and sharp edges we way too common, the helmet gave out a particular demonic look especially since Cassandra's face wasn't visible anymore, the only opening giving away a pair of glowing green orbs where her eyes should be.

No one should be able to move or see in such thing, but Cassandra might as well be wearing her training grab, she was totally unaffected as she battled Eugene without mercy eventually disarming him by cutting off his right arm from the shoulder joint.

She kicked him making him hit the beam of black rocks; she impaled the body to it, running the sword all the way to the hilt

"You threw away your mask Demon!" Eugene's head had rolled away when she kicked him, but his the words had no effect on her anymore.

"Call me all the names you want, I am not going to die till Zhan Tiri is still breathing and Rapunzel isn't safe" there was no trace of hesitation in her words

"So you admit it, you want power and this time you are plotting to take over Corona yourself!" the accusations didn't faze her

"You are wrong, I am going to save Corona, I will get rid of Zhan Tiri and reunite the stones myself, then you and Rapunzel will have your happily ever after, while my ashes feed the worms" it was the only way to atone for what she did.

She didn't deserve to live and she had made her peace with such fact.

Eugene started laughing as did the spectators

"We will see"

The Head dissolved to dust, a sick grin stuck on his face.

Soon everything started crumbling and Cassandra found herself falling.

The laughter never stopped.

* * *

Cassandra woke up once again surrounded by stars, the armour was gone, she was back in her casual clothing, she rose up to her feet.

"Congratulations you made it" Hal voice seemed quite pleased

"Made it? I was supposed to defeat my darkest parts, yet I just put on my armour and attacked a friend" she wasn't pleased at all, she had hoped this trial would purge her soul from whatever was rotten in her "I am still a monster, nothing changed"

"You misunderstood the point" the halberd had her full attention "You won, you stood up to your worst thoughts and took away their power on you, you chased them away, all of those who attempted such thing before you have either let themselves be torn apart or jumped in the fire"

Cassandra frowned then admitted

"If I didn't have a mission to accomplish, I would have let Eugene kill me...those thoughts didn't leave me, they never will, did I really pass?"

"You won a battle, not the war, but in this case a single battle was enough"

"I don't understand, as you put it winning would fuel my forge, how can a simple battle do such thing?" she really didn't understand, wouldn't winning a war be such a better fuel?

"A fire too hot at the start would ruin a sword, what it's needed is a fire just right and you have provided the first crucial spark, all you must do now is cultivate it, slowly raise the spark to a raging inferno"

"There are more trials like this one, aren't they?!" Cassandra interrupted already trembling at the idea

"No, your fire is already started, all you must do is fortify yourself, the strength of your armour depends on how strong your body will be before your magic reawakens.

"...So we will start our training all over again" the was an hint of nostalgia in her voice, back there the only relief she had was Hal's training sessions even if she hated it at first, it would be great to be granted such sanctuary again.

Hal had been her only true ally after all.

"I am afraid this is a goodbye Cassandra" her eyes snapped wide open in fear

"What? But you are the fist blessing! I need you! You can't leave me alone! You still have to teach me so much!" protests sounding more like pleas fell out of her mouth

"The price for the second blessing was shattering myself, even if I wanted I couldn't come back" Hal gentle voice just made its student burst into tears "aw and to think you used to hate me, you have grown so much"

An amused chuckle later Cassandra was alone.

* * *

Cristoforo Scudo was patrolling the harbour with two of his man, an oil lantern raised in his hand, his eyes and ears keen and ready to locate anything out of place, as the Captain of the Guards it was already humiliating that a thief had found the Princess in his stead, he would rather eat his own moustache then allow anything to happen at the Coronation.

Everything must be perfect.

"CAPTAIN CAPTAIN!" he turned to the panicked voices of Stan and Pete

"What are you two doing here? Didn't Cassandra tell you to guard the Princess's room?" he clearly remembered his daughter coming to him with the request to borrow two guards to make sure the Princess wasn't disturbed after that embarrassing ordeal at the banquette.

Only filth like Flynn Rider would think that was appropriate, he probably wanted to tie the knot before the Princess changed her mind.

Those two were still in the puppy love stage, only time would tell if their relationship will last.

"It's Cassandra sir, she's injured!"

Was it Pete or Stan that said those words? He didn't know, as soon as he heard then he let the lantern crash on the ground and ran faster than he ever did.

* * *

He pretty much broke down the door to the Castle's infirmary, the Healer's assistant put herself in his path

"Sir! The door was open there was no need for such violence!"

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER!" it wasn't a question, it was a furious demand, the young woman backed away suddenly feeling small when confronted with such fury, her voice turning quite and meek

"The last cot to the right"

Cristoforo marched here, the cot was hidden behind a curtain, and he pushed them open, the moment he saw his little girl lying here pale as the sheets, her head heavy bandaged with small specks of red already forming on it, the anger melted away.

He dragged a chair to her bedside and sat down defeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know when People say so many awfull things about you that you start to believe them? well that's what happened to Cass and the way they killed her just made it worse.  
> Lots of misinformation turned the whole of Corona against her and she didn't actually do a fraction of it to deserve it.  
> You will all get a more detalied account of what actually happened in the other timeline when Cassandra gets a journal of her own.  
> Though now you know her first confimed kill. Six more to go excluding Zhan Tiri. Try to guess who :D  
> I wanted to put the flashbacks OUAT style during the present chapters, but I didn't like how they broke the action.
> 
> Now that being said I can say for certain I won't update again this month, given my personal challenge with "Stuck in place", however my hope is that it will get me used to writing more and faster so the next updates will come quicker, plus I will be able to actually get out other stories I want to publish in a resonable time.
> 
> Let me know if there is something unclear or off about my writing.
> 
> Happy Halloween! thank you for reading, commenting and leaving kudos. :)
> 
> Ps: Living armor's chapters are all cursed to be a few words short 2000 ...dang it...


	5. Duty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two fathers think about duty.
> 
> One rude awakening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay I am back!  
> Sorry for the long wait, I admit I was being lazy.  
> I will try to do better.

Captain Scudo would have passed weeks just watching over his daughter, but he had duties to attend to, something the King himself had to remember him

"Cristoforo, I know you are worried sick about your daughter, but I need your assistance to keep order"

"Your majesty I am sure Max can lead the troops in my stead for a couple of days" it was the first time he had dared to defy his King, he really hoped his Majesty would leave him be, just this once

"Don't be ridiculous I would be a laughing stock if I placed a horse as the Captain of my royal guards" of course Frederic Der Sonne of Corona wasn't someone you could just say no to

"Maximus isn't quite an ordinary horse, he's probably more capable then most of my man" however the Captain felt a sparkle of rebellion ignite him the more his eyes stayed focused on his little girl sleeping face.

"I know and we probably should do something about it, but now we need to settle another matter" why couldn't he just stay with his daughter? Was that too much to ask after so many years of loyal service?

"I thought the coronation was postponed? What could be so urgent to need me?" Frederic let out a long sigh as if he knew he had a very difficult and much needed conversation ahead him, but he didn't have the time to tackle it immediately.

Still the King knew he had to give his most loyal man at the least something.

"Unfortunately I can't tell all our guests that the coronation was postponed due to our daughters sneaking out at night to have an ill faded date without angering several closed minded nobles across the continent"

"Did you say date?" the Captain surely must have heard wrong

"That's another matter we will discuss after the nobles leave, right now I need you to execute my cover up plan" there was simply something in Frederic's tone that told me he just couldn't say no.

He didn't want to leave Cassandra alone.

"But...""I can keep her company"

"Rider!?"

"I know me and Cass don't really see eye to eye, but Blondie is really upset and someone banned her from coming here" he gave a pointed look to the King

"It's part of her punishment and I need them separated for the moment, just till we don't have dozens of nobles in our palace" Frederic clarified with a don't you dare defy me stare

"Anyway, she insisted I go check on Cassandra" Eugene finished

"That's settled then" the Captain knew there was no arguing the King now, he gave a brief warning glare to Ryder, he didn't need to say anything to make the former thief sweat, before addressing the monarch

"What do you need of me your majesty?" he had to concede, quietly wondering to himself how many times he had to put his duty before his daughter?

* * *

The moment they left, Eugene let out a sigh of relief and sat on the stool previously occupied by the Captain, he looked at Cassandra's bandaged up head before settling on her still pale face.

"Look I don't know if Blondie actually realized it or not, but she loves you and I bet you wouldn't have been half a pain in my neck if you didn't love her back" he had started to say only because he knew the Dragon Lady was unable to get up and strangle him, there was no chance he was ever going to tell this to her while she was awake "this doesn't mean I am going to hand her over to an Ice Demon without a fight" he had to clarify that, of course he had, he wasn't going to just give up his dream "However right now Rapunzel is worried sick about you and she made me promise to keep you company, plus I got accustomed to your iciness, so you better wake up immediately" he waited, hoping his voice had already irritated her out of her slumber.

No change.

"Ah you asked for it!" Eugene presented her the first volume of Flynnigan Rider's book series "I know how much you hate these books! I bet you are going to wake up just to strangle me once I start reading it"

He was halfway into the book before the fell asleep.

* * *

"I am afraid to inform you that Princess's Rapunzel Coronation had been postponed to a later date due to an accident last night" King Frederic had been addressing all the nobles in the Throne room, Queen Arianna at his side, he talked over the outraged murmurs of the nobles "My daughter's handmaiden had been attacked and injured during a late night stroll, the criminals haven't been found but strong evidence indicate it was an elaborate attack aimed to the Princess's herself as such I can't allow the Coronation to take place till those criminals are arrested"

"How long would it take? We got our own business to attend!" one of the nobles yelled out in outrage, many following with similar concerns

"We would hate to hold you all here for too long, but there is no need to miss out on the banquette, we will serve the our finest vine and food, it's the least we can do to honour your presence" Queen Arianna gentle, almost begging tone and the promise of a great feast calmed them down to a temporary truce.

The Royals knew too well they were on thin ice, but Rapunzel was in no shape to make public appearances, punishment aside, she was simply a worried mess over Cassandra's injury and if she were to show up, some nobles could spread rumours and the scandal would be too big for Corona to survive.

King Frederic had already silenced all those who were present to Rapunzel's breakdown of last night with the threat of treason to avoid such scandal to spread early.

He had to make a plan to soften the blow in case Rapunzel wasn't just crushing on her head maiden, still he knew the easiest way out was for Rapunzel to marry Eugene and have Cassandra as her concubine if she so inclined.

It would be far too easy to pass her up as Eugene's side lover and avoid the disaster a princess loving the fairer sex would bring.

This way Rapunzel would both keep up the appearances and pursue her relationship with the hand maiden with no repercussions.

However such thing left a bad taste in his mouth, his daughter should be allowed to date who she wished and this plan would require she also slept with Fitzherbert at the least once.

What if she wasn't even attracted to man?

Frederic felt sick just thinking about it and resolved back to simply find a way to soften the incoming blow to Corona's economy.

His daughter deserved the best even if Corona had to suffer

It wasn't the first time he fell short on his duty to the people for the benefit of his family.

The worst thing was that he would never regret it.

* * *

**What did you do?**

"I didn't...she just..."

**You murdered her, you murdered my daughter**

"I swear I never touched her, she's the..."

**You dare to blame her for your sick desires!**

"Max, Fidella please stop!"

Cheers, so many cheers drowning out a pained scream begging for mercy.

Her throat was dry.

The cheers continued.

**Clip, Clap, Clip, Clap, Clip, Clap, CLIP, CLAP, CLIP, CLAP,CLIP, CLAP, cLAP** _, cliP,cLap, clip, cla_...

She saw her own bowels still stuck to that fence.

Who wouldn't scream?

* * *

Eugene suddenly woke up and almost fell to floor from the resulting scare, he quickly recovered to see Cassandra in a sitting position on her cot, hands gripping her head as she let out a terrified yell.

A sound he never thought he would hear from her lips.

It chilled his blood.

"Cassandra! Cassandra! It’s okay, you are safe!" he shook her from her shoulders hoping to snap her out of whatever nightmare was still plaguing her.

It did the trick, soon an outright confused and still trembling Cassandra was staring at him then she eyed his hands still on her shoulders.

Eugene pulled them away as if he was being burned.

"...you have...your head, it's on your neck" the Dragon lady was pale as chalk, sweaty and out of breath, yet he was glad to see her awake even if she wasn't making any sense.

Yet he wanted the usual Cassandra back, this one was going to worry his sunshine to death

"Yes Madame Ice demon, my head is on my neck, as always, yours on the other hand is way off" he had hoped to get an insult back, what he didn't expect was for terror to take over Cassandra's face

"That’s right...the horses...didn't stop...I was still here...the fence" her breathing grew erratic and her shaking increased as her eyes unfocused on the present

"Cassandra calm down, it was just a nightmare, take a deep breath!" it was not use all she could hear was the sound of hooves on stone.

Eugene firmly wished to have the usual Cassandra back as he was hushed out of the room by the Healer.

He was worried.

* * *

Hours later Cassandra had calmed down, she was laying down the infirmary’s cot putting all of her memories in order.

She didn't know what came over her earlier, just that thinking about how she died made her feel as if she was suffocating and outright afraid.

Thinking about people she killed still upset her, but it didn't bring such feelings.

Was she that self centred that only her own demise upset her that much?

Her throat constricted.

She mustn't think about it.

She doesn't want to make another scene.

Everything was fine now, she will fix everything.

It won't hurt that much when the Sundrop and the Moonstone pulverize her.

Her mission.

She had to focus on just her mission.

She needed her armor. Nothing would make her feel safer than her armor.

Cassandra concentrated, she can feel her magic. The tiny spark she had made. Had it been always here? Had she been too blind to see it before?

No, there wasn't time to lose; she had a mission to carry out.

There wasn't time to lose; she needed to start training immediately.

"No Miss you have are really high fever, you must rest" a nurse had pushed her back into the cot the moment she tried to get up.

She had been pushed down like nothing.

She was weak.

_There is no point in training if your body is still so weak_

Hal's words resonated in her head.

Cassandra settled down.

"It's just a fever, can't I go back to my room?" she tried to compromise, if she had to rest, she didn't want to stay here

"I am sorry Miss, you hit your head very hard, we need to keep an eye on you in case something is wrong" no such luck, still Cassandra didn't want to stay here doing nothing with absolutely no distractions.

She didn't want to think, just for a little while.

Her eyes locked on an object.

"...Can you pass me that book?" the nurse bent down and grabbed the Adventures of Flynnigan Rider from the floor.

"Just don't push yourself too hard" she had recommended her as she handled it over.

Cassandra never thought she would willingly read such thing, but the alternative was much worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years!
> 
> Next chapter will focus on someone whose plans were totaly ruined.

**Author's Note:**

> I will just anticipate you that Cass has Living armor magic and leave it at that.
> 
> In case you are wondering I didn't like how my other work Mixed up was evolving, even if I enjoyed having Hector beat up by handmaidens, it will be rewritten later giving more space to Cass's struggle in the Mirror.


End file.
